Unbreakable Bond
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: [Chains of Blood Universe] A zombie and a witch. It doesn't seem the likeliest of combinations, but Fuji isn't a typical witch, and although Jiroh is a typical zombie, he tends to be a lot sweeter than the rest.


A/N: Haha, I've been really in the mood for vampires lately. So I came back to my Chains of Blood universe more than once...Here we go again, with yet another of the pairings...This time, it's Fuji x Jiroh. But...Jiroh's a zombie! you say. Well, in Bitten and Bound, Fuji admitted that Jiroh became his at some point -- so I thought that maybe I should explain why. The only pairings left after this are OshitarixMukahi (my cute little demons) and KamioxShinji (the panther and the witch!) but I'm not sure if I'll get to them, since they really didn't do anything in Chains of Blood anyway. Or maybe that's an even better reason to get to them? In any case, please enjoy the following weirdness, and remember kids -- don't try bloodsucking at home.

Oh, and because I feel the need to promote myself, the fics in the Chains of Blood universe (in order of how I wrote them) are:

Chains of Blood (SengokuxMomo)

Bitten and Bound (AtobexTezuka) -- in which there is a better explanation of Fuji and Atobe's battle, which is only briefly mentioned in this fic.

Reunions (OishixEiji)

For Just a Moment (InuixKaido)

and this one! which is entitled...

****

Unbreakable Bond

For as long as Fuji could remember, he had never liked zombies. It was a little cruel to say that they were completely useless, but as far as he could tell, it was the truth. Zombies could most often be found sleeping somewhere -- anywhere. In the human world, zombies were classified as people with sleeping disorders. The truth of the matter was that they did not have enough power in their veins to keep them upright -- so they would lay down.

Useless.

Of course, Fuji thought, he might just be succumbing to the prejudice that was all around him, but until it was proven otherwise, he would continue to dislike zombies. He much preferred undead who could stand up for themselves -- and just plain stand up. Such as vampires.

Now there were fascinating creatures! He liked spending time with vampires, especially vampires who didn't know who he was. It was fun, being around them, and knowing -- but they never suspected a thing.

Being a hidden witch was fun. He didn't have to follow the rules of the underworld and could do as he pleased, including fooling around with humans -- if the mood took him, which it never had. Having the option open was always a plus, though.

However, he was not quite satisfied lately -- in fact, he was incredibly angry. His younger brother had been snatched away by a demon, and very soon he was going to be forced to come out of hiding, forced to remove the spells that kept him hidden away while he was right in front of their noses. He was not pleased about that at all.

He was also not pleased about the fact that a zombie was currently sleeping on his front step. A zombie that he recognized quite well, since this particular zombie had been around for...well, quite some time.

Jiroh. His family name that he used always changed, but he was still Jiroh. What was he this time? Oh, yes.

"Akutagawa-kun, could you please move?" he said politely, loud enough to wake the sleeping zombie up. He hoped. 

The zombie blinked a few times, and regarded Fuji with a (not surprisingly) sleepy expression.

"Hn...Sleep..." he murmured, and was about to settle his head back down again, when he noticed who was looming over him. "Oh!! Fuji Syusuke! I wanted to come and talk to you! Your tennis was amazing!"

Fuji stifled a laugh. Jiroh's human act was apparently to pretend that only really good tennis players could get him to stay awake. That was a good enough reason to be able to sleep for most of the day without going to all the trouble of seeing various doctors and having to have a so-called sleeping disorder dealt with. He could chalk his sleeping up to boredom. It was quite clever.

"You came here just to tell me that?" Fuji asked, a little playfully. Zombies were useless, but this one was rather cute -- and he had to keep his human act up, as well. He still hadn't revealed himself to the underworld yet, and didn't plan on doing it for a while.

"I was hoping you'd play a match with me," Jiroh said excitedly. "Will you? Will you?"

"How did you get my address?"

"I asked one of your team-mates for it!"

"And he gave it to you?" Fuji's eyebrow raised slightly. Which of his team-mates would have given out his address without his position? (Which of his team-mates would be willing to deal with the wrath of Fuji?)

"...no. He wouldn't. So I looked in the phone book!"

The proud look on Jiroh's face finally did it for Fuji -- he broke out into laughter. "You're really too much, Akutagawa-kun."

"You know, you're kind of familiar-looking. Have we met before?" Jiroh asked, invading Fuji's personal space, and sticking his nose in the witch's face.

Fuji's heart stopped for a moment. His spells were still in place -- there was no way that Jiroh could recognize him as the witch Fuji...

Unless zombies were less useless than he'd thought.

"We'd never met before today," Fuji assured him. "It's a little late, why don't we play tennis tomorrow?"

"Okay!" Jiroh exclaimed happily. He bounded off a short ways -- and then, after yawning widely, plopped himself down in the grass, curled up, and went to sleep. Apparently his energy had been spent and he needed to regain some strength before he would be able to get home.

Zombies, Fuji thought, with a shake of his head. Pretty damn useless--even the cute ones.

~~~~~

"I _do_ recognize you. Not just because you play well."

Jiroh faced Fuji with a serious face. Fuji never let his smile waver. "What are you talking about, Akutagawa-kun?"

"I remember you, from a long time ago. Witch's spells don't work so well on zombies."

"I see. Are you going to report me to Atobe-sama then?" Fuji asked. There was a dangerous edge to his voice that Jiroh did not miss.

"No. What you do is your business. I'm just kind of disappointed that the only reason you play well is because you're a witch," Jiroh said glumly. He sighed, and sat down, right there on the tennis court.

"Did you suspect I was a witch when you played against me yesterday?" Fuji asked.

"No. I thought..." Jiroh yawned. "I thought you were a good player, so I got excited."

"Then that isn't part of your act?"

"Not entirely. I like tennis. These days...it's hard to keep completely..." another yawn "separated from life as a human, because...as a human, I'm..."

Fuji chuckled a little. It was typical of a zombie to fall asleep in the middle of an important sentence. He also had to admit that Jiroh was rather adorable like this. He looked almost human, in the daylight, when the paleness of his face was not as visible; when the telltale signs of his race were not heightened by the eerie light of the moon.

Yes, a cute zombie. 

That didn't change the fact that zombies were useless.

~~~~~

"I thought I was a disappointment to you?" Fuji had been surprised when he'd opened the door to reveal a very sleepy zombie blinking at him.

"Well yeah, but you still played well, so I thought I would challenge you again, and..." yawn "stay awake this time..."

"From the sounds of things, that's going to be difficult," Fuji said.

"Maybe."

"Come in, won't you, I was just making some tea."

Jiroh peered past him into the house. "Are there any other scary witches around?"

"No, they're...elsewhere, in light of recent events." 

"Okay then."

Jiroh made himself comfortable on Fuji's couch. Maybe a little too comfortable, because he was starting to drift off again.

"It was pretty impressive last night when you announced your presence to everyone," Jiroh said.

Fuji had revealed himself to the underworld, so his family had gone into hiding elsewhere. He would rejoin them eventually, after he'd rescued Yuuta from the clutches of the bastard demon Mizuki. How could he have converted such a cute little witch like Yuuta? If only Yuuta had known his heritage earlier, he might never have let Mizuki make him a demon...

For some reason, the thought of Yuuta eating human flesh disgusted him. He did not have a particular weakness for humans, but he didn't loathe them either, like some undead. Humans were just that -- humans, and they had a place in the world, too.

And some of them were bloody amusing to play with -- like Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain of the tennis team at Seigaku. He was quite fun to tease.

Would Yuuta eat Tezuka Kunimitsu one day? Would he eat someone like Tezuka? Fuji clenched his fists. He wanted Yuuta back, so he could watch over him, like before.

"Fuji?"

Fuji came out of his thoughts at the sound of Jiroh's voice. The zombie actually looked a little concerned.

"You spaced out for a long time."

"Ah."

"Is something wrong?" Jiroh asked.

Fuji was not used to being asked that question. He was not exactly close to anyone in his family, save for his brother -- and even Yuuta never asked him that anymore. They'd grown apart over the years. He hated it.

"It's nothing," Fuji replied.

"I may be a zombie, but I'm not stupid. You lifted the spells and risked everything to get your brother back, right? Is that what you're worried about?"

Fuji was impressed at Jiroh's ability to get right to the point.

"What I'm doing is not really any of your concern," Fuji said. It was a warning: Don't stick your nose into my business, was what he was really saying.

Jiroh ignored it.

"I remember meeting you once a long time ago, I thought you were really interesting," Jiroh said. "That must be why I recognized you, even with all those spells."

"Is there a point to this, Akutagawa-kun?" Fuji's smile had disappeared. He didn't really like where this conversation was going. He didn't like his personal life being invaded, especially by a zombie.

"I wanted to meet you again. I'm glad I did."

"Even if the only reason I'm good at tennis is because I'm a witch?"

"I said that...but then I wondered, is that true?" Jiroh asked. "I want to find out. Will you play me?" 

Fuji was going to refuse, but then he realized he had nothing better to do, and playing tennis would ensure that Jiroh stopped prying into the business involving his brother -- so Fuji accepted.

~~~~~

"You really are good!" Jiroh exclaimed happily, waving his tennis racket about. He was acting like a child, and yet he had to be at least a hundred years older than Fuji -- and Fuji was not exactly young (by human standards, at least).

Fuji laughed. "I have to leave magic out of tennis, to keep my identity a secret. I'm a little sad that you didn't have more faith in me."

"You're a tease," Jiroh said. Then he (very typically) yawned.

"So I've been told. On more than one occasion," Fuji said. "By humans, and otherwise."

Jiroh laughed. "I want to spend more time with you, before you hide away again."

"I don't really like zombies," Fuji said.

"I figured that out," Jiroh said, "But won't you give me a chance? I'm not..." He yawned. "I'm not stupid or anything...really..."

"No, I don't think you're stupid," Fuji said. "Maybe we should be friends, Akutagawa-kun."

~~~~~

"Fuji?"

Fuji was facing away from Jiroh, and refused to turn around.

"How did you get in?"

"I picked the lock. You weren't answering. I was worried," Jiroh replied.

"Why?"

"You were acting pretty strangely," Jiroh replied, "And you haven't been returning my calls or anything."

Fuji made no reply. Jiroh put a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Do you hate me, Fuji? I thought you didn't mind the fact that I'm a zombie anymore."

"I don't."

"So tell me what's wrong."

Fuji let out a rather hollow laugh. Jiroh knew him pretty well, even though they'd only spent a short time together. The few months they'd been friends was nothing in undead terms, but they'd formed a bond in that time -- a bond that was hard to ignore, though Fuji often tried.

"I saw Yuuta today." Fuji rubbed at one of his eyes. Jiroh wondered if Fuji was crying; but Fuji never cried. "I saw him...eating."

"Oh, Fuji."

Jiroh wrapped his arms around Fuji from behind, since Fuji wouldn't face him. Fuji was surprised at the contact; surprised, and comforted. It was nice to have someone with him, near him as he shivered at the thought of his little brother doing something so terrible as feasting on human flesh. It was nice to have someone who understood. It was nice that someone cared, even if that someone was a zombie.

Maybe zombies weren't so useless, after all.

He put his hands on Jiroh's, and he allowed his mask to slip; stopped trying to smile. He even let a tear escape.

"I've been trying to save him," he said.

"I know you have."

"One reason I like being a hidden witch is that I can avoid the terrible things that some witches do. I respect humans more than a lot of the undead do."

Jiroh's arms around him tightened. There was nothing he could say to Fuji that would comfort him, so he would just be with him for a while.

Fuji was so grateful for Jiroh's presence. He was surprised when he realized how much.

~~~~~

Jiroh was a zombie, and could fall asleep anywhere. Fuji found it amusing sometimes, to come home and find Jiroh sprawled in any number of places, fast asleep. Jiroh seemed to have a habit of inviting himself into Fuji's house, and as a matter of fact, Fuji didn't really mind all that much. He liked having someone to chat with when he got home -- even if he had to wake that person up, first. Even when he'd lived with his family, they hadn't spoken much. Fuji realized that he had been quite lonely; but he wasn't all that lonely anymore.

"Ne, Akutagawa-kun."

Jiroh cracked open an eye. "Hm?"

"Why don't you come down from there before you fall off?"

Jiroh scrambled down off the TV, looking a little sheepish. "Sometimes I sleepwalk, and..."

"I know, I've watched you."

Jiroh blushed. 

Fuji patted the empty cushion on the couch beside him. "Here is really much more comfortable."

Jiroh nodded his agreement, and settled down beside Fuji. He was asleep within moments, and soon, his head had plopped onto Fuji's shoulder. Fuji found that he liked the contact. He looked over at the sleeping face of Jiroh, who had become very important to him over the past few weeks, and he smiled -- a real smile, not his usual mask. He was very happy. He began to feel that maybe someday, things would be all right.

That was the first time that Jiroh slept with his head on Fuji's shoulder, but it wasn't the last.

~~~~~

Fuji had never been especially fond of any sort of water (he was extremely cat-like at times, though he was not a shape-shifter) but for some reason, he enjoyed looking out at the waves while Jiroh was at his side. They'd both escaped the underworld meeting in favor of looking out at the river.

"Ne, Jiroh-kun, would you like to do me a favor?" Fuji the witch asked, with the charming smile that rarely left him -- only this time it was for real, and it was for Jiroh. Jiroh hadn't missed Fuji's use of his given name, the name that never changed as the years passed. For someone undead, a name that they kept was important, had to have some kind of significance...because they lived for so long, and had so many name changes, that if one name remained, it really meant something to them.

They'd grown closer since that day that Jiroh had dared to hug the witch -- closer and closer.

"What kind of favor?" Jiroh asked.

"I want you to deliver a message to Atobe-sama for me. An official challenge."

"You want to challenge him for the throne?" Jiroh asked, eyes wide. "But Fuji, you might--"

"I know," Fuji replied. "Are you worried about me, Jiroh-kun?"

A faint blush spread across the zombie's face. "Maybe a little."

"It's something I have to do," Fuji said. "Do you understand?"

"Not really. What would happen if you became ruler of the underworld?"

Fuji lifted Jiroh's chin with gentle fingers, so that he could look into Jiroh's eyes -- with his own open ones. They were not glowing red as they did when he was in witch form -- they were blue, and they were bottomless, and Jiroh almost got lost in them.

"If I became ruler, then I would make sure that zombies got much more respect than they do."

That made Jiroh laugh a little, and then he yawned. "I'll deliver your challenge, then," he said, and he went off to do just that. 

~~~~~

The following weeks were confusing. Fuji's challenge was accepted by Atobe, but was interrupted in the middle by Tezuka Kunimitsu's arrival. Then Tezuka was whisked away by Atobe, and Fuji thought that Atobe was going to kill him -- but something happened between those two that Fuji Syusuke had never expected. He kept a close eye on those two, because he respected humans a lot more than he thought that Atobe did.

It turned out that Atobe was drawn to Tezuka more than Fuji had thought possible, so he stopped being concerned about it. Atobe even accused him of being in love with Tezuka, because he'd stuck his nose in so far -- but Fuji was not in love with Tezuka, not at all. Tezuka was an amusing human, and Fuji did not want to see his life wasted away -- but that was all.

And Tezuka's life was not going to be wasted away, now, because he'd been made into a vampire...

He decided to keep an eye on the two for a while, but he put his main focus on saving his brother.

Which became a long, painful battle that never seemed to end.

~~~~~

The worst day of Fuji Sysuke's long life was the day that Yuuta turned his back on him.

"I'm a demon now, aniki. You can't do anything about it, so why don't you just leave me to my life?"

It had been almost a hundred years, and Yuuta had finally had enough, it seemed. He didn't want to be saved. He wanted to stay with Mizuki -- the bastard who had corrupted him, ruined his innocence...He'd fought directly with Mizuki a few times, even, but Yuuta had always stopped him. Yuuta did not want any harm to come to Mizuki, although Fuji would gladly have gotten him exorcised at countless opportunities.

Yuuta loved Mizuki, and it seemed there was nothing he could do about it. He realized it on the day that Yuuta turned his back on him -- for good.

Fuji dragged his feet all the way home that night. He collapsed on his door step, hand on the door handle, lacking the strength to turn it. Tears fell freely on this night. He couldn't hold them back.

The door opened, suddenly, and Fuji fell forward. There was someone there to catch him, though. Someone there to catch the lonely witch.

"Fuji! What happened?" Jiroh asked.

"Yuuta doesn't want to be saved, Jiroh," Fuji said. "He'll never come back. He'll never be what he once was."

Jiroh stroked Fuji's fine hair, and held him. Held him while he drowned in despair.

"I'm here," he said. "I'm here."

"I know," Fuji said.

That was the night that they first became lovers. That was the night when everything began for them; when the bond they had formed became unbreakable.

~~~~~

"How did your battle turn out this time, Fuji?" Jiroh asked, as Fuji approached him. It never failed to impress him how very...witchy Fuji looked in his dark robes. Fuji was really very attractive in his natural state -- whereas Jiroh looked like...well, like a zombie.

"I decided to give up and let him win. He's not such a bad ruler after all. I don't think I can get Yuuta back by becoming the ruler, anyway," Fuji said, a little wistfully.

"That was the reason in the first place, wasn't it?" Jiroh asked.

"Of course."

"It's been a hundred years, Fuji. What do you want to do?"

"Go back into hiding. I told Atobe-sama that I was going to take my adorable Jiroh and leave again. He won't stop me."

"Your adorable..." Jiroh felt a blush creeping up on him. Fuji seemed to have that kind of effect on him.

Fuji chuckled. "Yes, my adorable Jiroh. Run away and hide with me, kawaii zombie-chan."

Jiroh was shocked. He'd never expected Fuji to ask him to go with him. Over these hundred years, he'd expected Fuji to leave him at some point...but he never had. And maybe he never would. They were lovers after all; maybe there was a bond there that was even stronger than he'd realized.

He knew he was in love with Fuji, but he'd never been brave enough to ask Fuji how he felt -- about a zombie like himself.

"You want me to stay with you, even though I'm a..." To Jiroh's embarrassment, he yawned.

"I wouldn't have been with you this long if that still bothered me, you know. You changed my mind about zombies, Jiroh. You were there with me when the worst happened, and I want you to stay with me. Witches don't live forever, you know, Jiroh," Fuji said. "I'll understand if you want to turn me down."

The unspoken words were plain -- zombies just didn't die, so one day, Jiroh would be alone.

Jiroh reached out and took Fuji's hand. "I'd be happy to hide with you" yawn "and stay with you for as long as you live." Yawn. "Zombies do die sometimes, you know, especially to be with the ones they care about."

"Undead aren't supposed to have feelings you know," Fuji pointed out.

"Some of them do, anyway. Especially me!" Jiroh grinned. And then yawned again. "Let's go, so I can sleep."

No, zombies were definitely not useless, especially zombies as cute as Jiroh.

~~~~~


End file.
